Book review: "The Saturday Night Ghost Club" by Craig Davidson

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The Saturday Night Ghost Club  

I requested “The Saturday Night Ghost Club” for review from Penguin Random House Canada. I never read anything by this author, and I was interested in exploring more of Canadian literature.

Synopsis

 

When neurosurgeon Jake Breaker operates, he knows he's handling more than a patient's delicate brain tissue--he's altering their seat of consciousness, their golden vault of memory. And memory, Jake knows well, can be a tricky thing.

When growing up in 1980s Niagara Falls, a.k.a. Cataract City--a seedy but magical, slightly haunted place--one of Jake's closest confidantes was his uncle Calvin, a sweet but eccentric misfit enamored of occult artefacts and outlandish conspiracy theories. The summer Jake turned twelve, Calvin invited him to join the "Saturday Night Ghost Club"--a seemingly light-hearted project to investigate some of Cataract City's more macabre urban myths. Over the course of that life-altering summer, Jake not only fell in love and began to imagine his future, he slowly, painfully came to realize that his uncle's preoccupation with chilling legends sprang from something buried so deep in his past that Calvin himself was unaware of it.

Review

 

I rarely pick up books the moment I receive them, but something about “The Saturday Night Ghost Club” pulled me to it. I went into the book almost blind, knowing only that it was set in the 80s, in Niagara Falls Ontario, and that the author was Canadian.

I remember reading the first page of “The Saturday Night Ghost Club”, and then another one, and another one. Twenty pages into the book and I already knew that I was going to love it. Fifty pages in - I knew that I was going to give this book a high rating. Halfway into the book - I was requesting more books by Craig Davidson from the library.

“The Saturday Night Ghost Club” is a literary novel, but it blends scientific facts with memoir like reminiscences of the main protagonist’s, Jake, in such an effortless way, that at times, I had to remind myself that there is no real neurosurgeon by the name of Jake Breaker working at St. Michael’s Hospital, right across the street from me.

Craig Davidson’s writing feels effortless, lightweight, even when he talks about haunting memories, prescription pills, and brain tumours. “The Saturday Night Ghost Club”, however, is not all about science. It is, in fact, a heartfelt and nostalgic recounter of childhood memories. Jake, the neurosurgeon, exists in the periphery of the book, popping in only to make a reference to something that would make sense only at the very end of the book. Most of the time, it is Jake, the twelve-year-old boy, who is the main protagonist of the story.

Even though I love literary fiction, I often struggle with contemporary or historical fiction, when I feel that I have no connection with places or events. With “The Saturday Night Ghost Club” I had no problems fully emerging myself into the story. Every location and every memory felt tangible, covered in cobwebs and dust, but still vivid.

I loved everything about the story and the plot. I did, however, guess where it was heading when I was about one third into the book, but it did not diminish the pleasure of reading it. There is something to be said about small towns that manage to both to make you nostalgic and send a chill down your spine. There were, definitely, moments in “The Saturday Night Ghost Club” when I felt disturbed by the turn of events, but mostly it was a rather fun read.

I can’t say whom I liked more in “The Saturday Night Ghost Club”. I loved Jack; I liked his friend Billy, his sister Dove; I liked his uncle Cal. I even liked that video store owner Lex. I did not like him at first, but later he grew on me. There are a lot of relationships in this book that seem easy at the first glimpse, but as the plot develops, you learn that everyone carries secrets, sometimes not even their own.

The ending of “The Saturday Night Ghost Club” was exactly like I expected it to be: heartfelt, bittersweet, and very real. I wish it could have been less real so that I could pretend that it is a happy ending. In a way, it was a happy ending. But at the same time, it was not. What made it so heartbreaking for me was not even what actually happened, but how everyone came together to deal with it.

I can’t recommend this book highly enough. “The Saturday Night Ghost Club” is a masterfully crafted novel with enough twists and thrown in scientific facts about brains to keep you on your toes till the very last page. I can not wait to read more works by Craig Davidson. “The Saturday Night Ghost Club” is going to be one of my favourite reads of 2018.

Rating: 4.5 stars

 

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Book review: "The Josephine Knot" by Meg Braem

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The Josephine Knot  

The Josephine Knot is one of the 2018 releases by Playwrights Canada Press, and I received a copy of this play in exchange for a free and honest review.

Synopsys

 

The author of Blood: A Scientific Romance is back with a story in which a family must pack up a matriarch’s things while unpacking the past and untangling the present.

After Samantha’s baba dies, her fractured family is summoned to pick through the house full of belongings and trash, leaving taped notes on whatever they want to take. Between old napkins, a closet full of ketchup packets, and a freezer full of rotting meat are gems like a grandfather clock and plastic deer statuettes that hold more sentiment. While her father David sifts through his own memories, all Samantha wants is to find a simple object that could represent her place in the family. When other family members arrive, tug of wars and passive-aggressive conversations commence. In a house full of junk and sadness, it comes down to Samantha and David to find a new way to fit together.

 

Review

 

A bit funny and a bit chilling, The Josephine Knot is the perfect blend of both - living up to its title to a T. Unlike with some plays and short fiction, with which I struggle to envision everything happening as it would on stage, I had no such problems with The Josephine Knot - it sucked me in from the very beginning, and there was a reason for that.

Reading this play, I felt as if I was reading about my own family’s story. The similarities are so uncanny that I felt almost creeped out by it. My name may not be Samantha, and my dad is not David, but my grandma was undoubtedly the baba from the story. With an apartment full of porcelain figurines, with the dubious cooking habits and a bad leg, my baba was as much of tour de force as Samantha’s grandmother. And as the character in the play, she was often at the heart of the family drama, leaving, even in her passing, some unresolved issues and a property to be divided among family members.

I was both fascinated and petrified by the fact that the playwright, Meg Braem, unknowingly, managed to perfectly capture the story of my dad’s family. However, obviously, many family dramas are similar, and I do not claim any privilege rights to a grandmother named Olga.

I can find no faults with The Josephine Knot. Reviewing it almost feels as if I am trying to pass judgement onto my own family. The blend of dark humour in the face of family drama, macabre details, heartbreaking revelations - you need to read the play to understand the whirlpool of emotions that I experienced when reading the play. It is very true to life, lively, and inspirational, in spite of the topic of death.

If I am ever someone important enough to warrant a biography written about me, I would like Meg Braem to do that. She, apparently, knows what she is doing.

 

About author

 

Meg Braem’s plays have won the Gwen Pharis Ringwood Award for Drama at the Alberta Literary Awards and the Alberta Playwriting Competition, and Blood: A Scientific Romance was nominated for a Governor General’s Literary Award for Drama. Her work has been presented at the Citadel Theatre, Theatre Calgary, Lunchbox Theatre, the Belfry Theatre, Sage Theatre, Sparrow & Finch Theatre, Theatre Transit, Atomic Vaudeville, and Intrepid Theatre. She is a past member of the Citadel Playwrights Forum and was a playwright-in-residence at Workshop West Playwrights’ Theatre. Her next book, Feminist Resistance: A Graphic Approach (co-authored with Norah Bowman and Domique Hui), will be published by University of Toronto Press in 2019. Meg currently divides her time between Edmonton as the Lee Playwright in Residence at the University of Alberta and Calgary as the co-director of the Alberta Theatre Projects Playwrights Unit.

 

Rating: 4.5 stars

 

 

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Book review: "In Spirit" by Tara Beagan

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In Spirit  

A copy of "In Spirit" by Tara Beagan was kindly provided to me by Playwrights Canada Press in exchange for a free and honest review.

 

Summary

 

Twelve-year-old Molly was riding her new bicycle on a deserted road when a man in a truck pulled up next to her, saying he was lost. He asked if she could get in and help him back to the highway, and said he could bring her back to her bike after. Molly declined, out of interest for her own safety. The next things Molly remembers are dirt, branches, trees, pain, and darkness.

 

Molly is now a spirit.

Mustering up some courage, she pieces together her short life for herself and her family while she reassembles her bicycle—the same one that was found thrown into the trees on the side of the road. Juxtaposed with flashes of news, sounds, and videos, Molly’s chilling tale becomes more and more vivid, challenging humanity not to forget her presence and importance.

 

About author

 

Tara Beagan is a proud Ntlaka’pamux and Irish “Canadian” halfbreed based in Calgary, Alberta. She is co-founder/director of ARTICLE 11 with her most cherished collaborator, Andy Moro. She served as the artistic director of Native Earth Performing Arts from February 2011 to December 2013. A Dora Mavor Moore Award-winning playwright, she has been in residence at Cahoots Theatre, NEPA, the National Arts Centre, and Berton House. Five of her twenty plus plays have been published, and her first film script, 133 Skyway, co-written with Randy Redroad, won the imagineNATIVE award for best Canadian drama. Beagan is also a Dora and Betty Mitchell Award-nominated actor.

 

Review

 

Similar to my experience with “This Is How We Got Here”, I was lucky enough not only to receive a copy of “In Spirit” but also see Tara perform a piece from it at Playwrights Canada Press Fall Launch party and the readings as part of Native Earth’s Weesageechak Begins to Dance festival in November of 2017. Together with Keith Barker’s play, "In Spirit" by Tara Beagan was one of my most anticipated reads, and I am a bit sad I got around to reading and reviewing it only now.

 

"In Spirit" serves as an important message about an ongoing issue of missing and murdered indigenous girls and women in Canada. Based on a true story with amended names and places, it pulls us into a mind of a young girl, who is trying to figure out what had happened. Slowly, we realize that she is a spirit and what she is trying to piece together is not just a broken bicycle but is her murder.

"In Spirit" is one of those plays that makes you feel uncomfortable, guilty and sad. Aand as it should. Because no child deserves the fate that had befallen Molly. It can happen to anyone and is still happening. And we must feel responsible for it.

 

It is disconcerting to say that ‘I liked the play’ as the word ‘like’ seems to be inappropriate due to the subject matter. I liked Molly as a character and found her to be in some ways more mature than her age - the way she feels threatened by the stranger on an instinctive level and how she notices his eyes lose a smile, etc.

 

A broken bicycle represents her life and her fragile body - the image striking enough to be a character on its own in this play. As she picks up pieces one by one, marvelling at how similar this broken bike is to her new one, Molly attempts to reassemble her identity and her memories. It is heartbreaking to read, especially her mentions of the family and dogs.

 

Oh god, the dogs!

 

As Molly reflects on her life, we learn that every dog that she ever owned was killed in road accidents (as their house is next to a road). Molly says:

 

“But do you think one of them even stopped to see what it was they ran over? ... Not even once! And sometimes for sure other people saw what happened, and they didn’t even say nothing either.”

 

That paragraph strongly resonated with me. It almost feels as if Tara is alluring to the society and police who seem to be doing nothing about the violence against indigenous people, who are going missing or killed and nobody seems to care.

 

I had, however, some issues with stage directions. There was a moment in which Molly drops the handlebars she was holding, and next direction says that she still holds them, and then after another couple of lines, she drops them again.

 

I am a visual reader. When I read, I visualize all the events as in a movie. Which means that whenever there is a tiny inconsistency in my “brain movie” script - I will most probably pick on it.

 

With "In Spirit", I had some issues visualizing the events. The descriptions of visual and sound effects of the billboard were not enough for me to recreate a full image of the play in my head. Perhaps, it would have achieved the desired effect, had I an opportunity to watch it on stage.

 

Sparse stage directions forced me to lower the rating of this play. Some may not find it enough for axing one star, but as I only go by the script, I can’t have incomplete or inconsistent directions. Perhaps, it was intentional to give actors free reigns, but I felt as if the play was lacking something.

 

I encourage you to read this play and educate yourself on the issues that are still plaguing our society.

 

Together with links to GoodReads and Playwrights Press pages, I added some links to articles on the topic.

 

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Book review: “Black Dog: 4 vs the wrld” by Matthew Heiti

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“Black Dog: 4 vs the wrld” by Matthew Heiti  

I received a copy of the play “Black Dog: 4 vs the wrld” from Playwrights Canada Press in exchange for a free and honest review.

 

If you have been reading my reviews for awhile, you know that I love reading plays. I love reading notes on scripts. I love reading notes on staging. I love it, even if I don‘t get an opportunity to watch the play on stage, as it is in this case. “Black Dog: 4 vs the wrld” by Matthew Heiti was commissioned by Sudbury Theatre Centre and premiered there in April 2013.

 

The moment I read the synopsis of this play, I knew immediately that I had to read it.

Synopsis:

 

The Breakfast Club meets Shirley Jackson in a fusion of live theatre and technology that tells a darkly comic but hopeful story of found teenage outsiders struggling with death, depression and the shadow of a black dog.

 

The topic of mental health is prevailing in the play. Not only the play opens with the honestly shocking statistics regarding mental health and suicide rates in Ontario and in the world, but the performance itself consistently keeps reminding the audience of the subject matter.

 

I will allow myself to include the quote from the "notes on the text":

 

“More than ever, there is the tendency in our Wikipedia-obsessed society to self-diagnose and slap easy labels on people. It’s in our language - we say. “He’s a schizophrenic”, when we should say “He is a person with schizophrenia.”

 

It can’t be more true, as we often hear our peers and friends throw around such phrases as “I clean all the time. I am so OCD about it”, or “This is giving me anxiety”, or “I am so depressed about it”. Even though, all of those feelings and emotions might be valid and true for the speaker, the easy way of appropriating such labels is detrimental for the people who truly suffer from mental illnesses or the representation of their stories.

 

The staging notes of “Black Dog” captivated me even before I got to the script itself. The play uses technology and live twitter feed as part of the performance, and the audience is encouraged to use their cellphones - something that is never the case in live theatre.

 

The play kept me on my toes throughout. I read it almost in one go while commuting on a bus (and, yes, I almost did miss my stop in a very typical booknerd way). I remember walking through the quiet streets of Lakeshore Boulevard and thinking that one of those houses could be the home of One and Two. Or, perhaps, Four. That behind those walls there might be someone like one of those teenagers, suffering and alone, unheard.

 

The play is fast-paced with a staccato dialogues and the increasing crescendo of anxiety. You can tell that something bad is about to happen. That the black dog is getting closer and is about to pounce. The ending came, and I was left with the feeling of mounting depression. It was too real and in some ways too close home to brush off as a piece of fiction. I found it hard to step away from the characters and the plot and found my thoughts return to both again and again in the following days.

 

Five: [...] These are the things I keep to myself because they make me different. / And different’s just one more word for alone.

 

Is the plot completely original? No, we have seen it done in many ways many times before. Was it meant to be original? No. (Well, yes, but also no.)

 

As Matthew in the beginning, he tried to create those characters as representatives of a whole spectrum of mental health and illnesses. Numbers instead of names, symptoms of multiple disorders instead of labels. Those kids are like countless nameless victims of a spreading plague - unique and faceless at the same time. This play, like many other stories that touch upon the subject, is meant to make you uncomfortable and aware of those who suffer. I can only applaud the author.

 

Personal rating: 5 stars

 

Buy “Black Dog: 4 vs the wrld” by Matthew Heiti"

Black Dog: 4 vs the wrld

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Blog: “Earn It!” by Cinders McLeod - Book Launch @ Queen Books

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You know, you are friend with right people when instead of going out for dinner, your friend invites you to a book launch party. So, this is how yesterday, August 15, I found myself at a new independent bookstore called “Queen Books”, located on (obviously) 914 Queen Street East. I had never heard of this bookstore before and learned that it just opened in April of this year. Their website is still under construction but you can check them out at queenbooks.ca. The book launch party in question was for the picture book “Earn It!”, the book one in a series called “The Moneybunnies”, by Cinders McLeod. This book is about Bun, a little bunny, who wants to be rich and famous (ain’t we all) but doesn’t understand that she needs to work hard for it. This series of books is intended to teach young children financial literacy, about spending and earning money, and why some families have more money than others.

I found the atmosphere at the party very welcoming and relaxing, even though I personally does not know Cinders, it was nice to see so many people come to celebrate the launch. The book was sold out, and everyone who was lucky to get a copy was able to get it signed by the author on spot.

(Unfortunately, I did not purchase a copy for myself, and I don’t have any readers of that age in my life to give it as a gift. Plus, the books were in high demand and I didn’t want to get ahead of someone who really wanted it. However, I do intend to pick it from the public library to read - they already have 32 copies in stock! I checked! But fear not - I did purchase another book from the book store. Just because I have no self-control.)

Here are some of the candid photos I took at the store.

  

  

  

  

“Earn It!” is both written and illustrated by Cinder McLeod and is published by Nancy Paulsen Books, the imprint of Penguin. It has 32 pages and is intended for children of 3-5 years old. It is currently available in hardback and ebook formats.

Cinders McLeod is represented by Samantha Haywood, Transatlantic Agency. Learn more about Cinders McLeod at www.cindersmcleod.com and cindersmcleod.tumblr.com and follow her on Twitter at @cindersmcleod.

Queen Books is scheduled to celebrate their official launch on August 26, Saturday.

Queen Books

queenbooks.ca

info@queenbooks.ca

416-778-5053

914 Queen St East

Toronto, On

Open 7 days a week, 10 am to 6 pm. Buy the book at Indigo:

Earn It!

Happy Canada Day: Book Recommendations

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Happy 150th Birthday, Canada! Have a wonderful maple-syrup-sweet and fun weekend. I put together a list of some of books by Canadian authors that I don't see recommended a lot. Or not at all. So, if you would like to see what I have read by Canadian writers and enjoyed - read on!

This blog post (sadly) does not contain any affiliated links, but I will link to my reviews and GoodReads pages for you to learn more about those books.

 

"Milk and Honey" by Rupi Kaur

If you are from Canada and haven't seen (or read) this collection of poetry and prose by a Toronto author, Rupi Kaur, you must be living under a rock (or in an igloo). It is a collection about love, abuse, pain and betrayal. So, consider yourself warned.

Personal rating: 4 stars

 

 

Long Story Short: An Anthology of (mostly) Ten-Minute Plays, edited by Rebecca Burton

This is one of my favourite anthologies to date and includes scripts and plays by Canadian playwrights from coast to coast. I have read and reviewed this collection on my blog.

Personal rating: 4.5

 

"Jane, The Fox and Me" by Fanny Britt

It is a cute middle grade picture book/graphic novel. I adored it. (And not only because it has a fox on the cover and in the title.)

Personal rating: 4.5 stars

 

 

"Hark! A Vagrant" by Kate Beaton

You probably have seen Kate's cartoons all over tumblr even if you don't recognize the book title or her name. Go check it out through - it is hilarious and has the best Canadian memes ever.

Personal rating: 4 stars

 

 

 

"The Lady Paranorma" by Vincent Marcone

A creepy and unique graphic novel from a visual artist. Plus, you get a challenge throw in - you need to find cardinal birds throughout the book. I loved it.

Personal rating: 4 stars

 

 

"Through the Woods" by Emily Carroll

Five creepy stories with gorgeous illustrations. If you like Brothers Grimm's like fairytales and graphic novels - it is a must have. I loved it so much, that I gave it to my friend as a gift. (But I still don't own a copy myself, why....) If you are at it - check out another book by Emily Carroll co-authored with Marika McCoola - "Baba Yaga's Assistant" - I liked it slightly less but the art is great!

Personal rating: 4.5 stars

 

"The Liszts" by Kyo Maclear, Julia Sarda (illustrated)

Another graphic novel with gorgeous art (I know, I have a trend here). It is super short but I want my own copy. Because a) the art, and b) I love making lists.

Personal rating: 4.5 stars

 

 

 

And here are 3 books that I haven't read yet but would like still recommend.

 

The Secret Loves of Geek Girls by Hope Nicholson (edited)

I was lucky to be at the panel with some of those lovely lady authors. This is a collection of stories and graphics and illustrations all about geek girls, and insecurities, and loves, etc. One of the stories was even written by Margarett Atwood (I couldn't NOT mention the dame of Canadian literature, eh). I am yet to read it myself but I heard only great things.

 

 

"The World Needs More Canada" by Indigo

It is a coffee table type of picture book that celebrates Canada and the country's 150th anniversary. It definitely looks pretty on my shelf :)

 

 

 

"Now You Know Canada: 150 Years of Fascinating Facts" by Doug Lennox

I picked it up at the library because I want to know more about Canada. Although I have a feeling the book might be 2/3 hockey facts :D

 

 

I hope you enjoyed my list, and Happy Canada Day, eh!